[Official] French Grand Prix 2021: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 7 of 23

[Greem]

I enjoyed that. The last 10 laps were especially good, in a "will they won't they?" way.

[steve nielsen]

The race in front was so exciting you almost forget how bad Ferrari did

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by bathurst77

and tough luck to anyone who didnt watch it coz "Paul ricard is boring".

What’d I miss? Snooze fest eh? Well that’s F1 for you.

[steve_r]

Well, that warmed up a bit.

[GT6]

a surprisingly good race but i do hate the circuit why good they have not found something better to do with all that paint.

[justracing]

Originally Posted by GT6

a surprisingly good race but i do hate the circuit why good they have not found something better to do with all that paint.

Yes agreed and yes apart from being a waste of paint it hurts the eyes.

[gert]

Mercedes looked really clueless today, leaving both drivers out while they had the option to counter Verstappens stop.

They didn't even stop Bottas for fresh tires after he was passed by Perez, even though he had a 40-50 second gap to Norris.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by gert

Mercedes looked really clueless today, leaving both drivers out while they had the option to counter Verstappens stop.

They didn't even stop Bottas for fresh tires after he was passed by Perez, even though he had a 40-50 second gap to Norris.

Mentioned elsewhere. They hoped that Perez would get a penalty and be demoted behind Bottas.
Not that Bottas could keep within 5s!

[Tourer]

Well having two genuinely competitive teams at the front certainly makes a difference doesn't it?

Enjoyed that race (as no doubt did Jaap if he tuned in) - there was tension and intensity all the way through with fortune favouring the brave from a strategy perspective (just).

It is so very weird as a venue to watch with all the blue & red bands but it gave us a good race today - interesting that the DRS zones didn't provide the "gimme" passes to the same extent we've seen at times, maybe due to the wind direction but to me that added to the intensity and the tension so that was a good thing.

From a purely nationalistic perspective, it was good to see Danny Ric looking a lot more comfortable and at home in the car - he's not all the way "there" yet but that was encouraging - showed us that the expectations of he and Londo being a very effective team pairing were on the money.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Tourer

Well having two genuinely competitive teams at the front certainly makes a difference doesn't it?

It certainly does.

Originally Posted by Tourer

Enjoyed that race (as no doubt did Jaap if he tuned in) - there was tension and intensity all the way through with fortune favouring the brave from a strategy perspective (just).

It is so very weird as a venue to watch with all the blue & red bands but it gave us a good race today - interesting that the DRS zones didn't provide the "gimme" passes to the same extent we've seen at times, maybe due to the wind direction but to me that added to the intensity and the tension so that was a good thing.

It was all about tyres and yes the venue is seriously tedious with all that coloured banding.

Originally Posted by Tourer

From a purely nationalistic perspective, it was good to see Danny Ric looking a lot more comfortable and at home in the car - he's not all the way "there" yet but that was encouraging - showed us that the expectations of he and Lando being a very effective team pairing were on the money.

Agreed, good to see the Honey Badger coming back to form. Also Vettel is doing good things in the Aston. All of which makes the overall grid interesting.

[wnut]

Third race on the bounce where somebody got into a qualifying session / position they shouldn't have been in by having an accident.

[steve_r]

Originally Posted by gert

Mercedes looked really clueless today, leaving both drivers out while they had the option to counter Verstappens stop.

They didn't even stop Bottas for fresh tires after he was passed by Perez, even though he had a 40-50 second gap to Norris.

Hardly clueless. The call got them within 2 laps of the win, and it looked like it could have gone with way. If Hamilton had pitted the same as Verstappen, then my guess is that he would also have finished second.

[GingerPixel]

I think the real difference is being felt between Lewis out there on his own, and the teams who have two drivers running at a similar level.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by GingerPixel

I think the real difference is being felt between Lewis out there on his own, and the teams who have two drivers running at a similar level.

The three teams with drivers running at a similar level (in order of closeness)are (all less than 3 places difference on average):
Haas,
Williams,
Alfa Romeo.

After that, McLaren (just over 3).

Then the average delta between drivers jumps quite a bit, and runs:
Aston Martin (5.29)
Ferrari (5.43)
Red Bull (5.71)
Alpine (5.857)
Mercedes (6)
Alpha Tauri (6.86)

So while it might be true that there is a clear difference in results at Mercedes - I wouldn't say that the teams with drivers running at similar levels are notable comparisons.

[TrapezeArtist]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

The three teams with drivers running at a similar level (in order of closeness)are (all less than 3 places difference on average):
Haas,
Williams,
Alfa Romeo.

After that, McLaren (just over 3).

Then the average delta between drivers jumps quite a bit, and runs:
Aston Martin (5.29)
Ferrari (5.43)
Red Bull (5.71)
Alpine (5.857)
Mercedes (6)
Alpha Tauri (6.86)

So while it might be true that there is a clear difference in results at Mercedes - I wouldn't say that the teams with drivers running at similar levels are notable comparisons.

That's quite a pat-on-the-back for the McLaren drivers. After all, the three teams ahead of them are all running near the back. You can't get much of a place difference between "last" and "nearly last".

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist

That's quite a pat-on-the-back for the McLaren drivers. After all, the three teams ahead of them are all running near the back. You can't get much of a place difference between "last" and "nearly last".

There's also the factor of DNFs to consider.

Finishing 4th & DNF can skew the figures. On the whole, I think a marginal difference in performance at the front can seem bigger than at the back due to the stakes involved.

Bottas finishing 20s off the lead seems like a lot more than Latifi finishing a lap down on Russell.
Is Hamilton really out on his own though? Bottas has had two DNFs, and otherwise has always been within two places of Hamilton (except when he beat him by three places in Baku).

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Bottas finishing 20s off the lead seems like a lot more than Latifi finishing a lap down on Russell.
Is Hamilton really out on his own though? Bottas has had two DNFs, and otherwise has always been within two places of Hamilton (except when he beat him by three places in Baku).

And not forgetting VB hammered him in Monaco until..